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The U.S. military shot down a Customs and Homeland Security drone on Thursday evening, which led to the abrupt closure of airspace over Fort Hancock, Texas, lawmakers said. At 6:30 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration closed the airspace, citing “special security reasons.” The FAA’s official notice of the closure currently says the closure will remain in effect until June 24. As it turns out, the “special security reasons” involved a friendly fire incident in which the U.S. military shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a laser-based anti-drone system. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), the top Democrat...

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that all U.S. airlines must certify they are conducting merit-based hiring for pilots or face a federal investigation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the action was to address "allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex," and added under the directive "all U.S. carriers will be required to certify this practice is terminated." Shortly after taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the United States and pressured the private sector to join the initiative....

WASHINGTON — The sudden and surprising airspace closure over El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday stemmed from the Pentagon's plans to test a laser for use in shooting down drones used by Mexican drug cartels, according to three people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity to share sensitive details. That caused friction with the Federal Aviation Administration, which wanted to ensure commercial air safety and the two agencies sought to coordinate, according to two of the people. Despite a meeting scheduled later this month to discuss the issue, the Pentagon wanted to go ahead and test the laser, prompting...

Drones operated by Mexican drug cartels entered US airspace late Tuesday, forcing a brief closure of the skies over El Paso, Texas, a Trump administration official told The Post Wednesday morning. “Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace,” the official said. “The Department of War took action to disable the drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.” The Federal Aviation Administration initially announced a 10-day restriction on air traffic over the border city, effective at 11:30 p.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET Wednesday). Fewer than eight hours later, the FAA wrote on X: “The...

All flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas have been halted for “special security reasons,” the Federal Aviation Administration said early Wednesday. content. arrow “No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM,” the FAA said, using the abbreviation for Notice to Airmen. It listed the reason as “temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons.”

Unusual shut down if a fairly major airport for 10 days....national security? Terror threat? Or ???

Daniel Huff, a former White House lawyer, noted in a recent analysis that the drive toward diversity and inclusion in the airline industry has put passengers at risk. In an article for the New York Post, Huff wrote that President Donald Trump was right to rescind diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration. That’s because female and minority pilots — many of whom entered the industry amid a drive toward diversity among pilots — were responsible for half of pilot-error crashes. Despite making up 10 percent of pilots, they were responsible for four out of eight such crashes since 2000....

Orlando International Airport was forced to ground all flights on Sunday afternoon after “extreme cold” sparked an emergency in the air traffic tower. The FAA issued an alert about the ground stop due to a “possible fire” at an air traffic control tower early Sunday afternoon, but the order was lifted at 4:15 p.m. after the cause was determined. In reality, the extreme cold — currently 43 degrees — caused a spinkler head in the fire suppression system at the facility to activate. The agency had sent out a bare-bones “fire alarm/safety” advisory that a tower was evacuating due to...

Wild video shows a wheel falling off a British Airways flight just after it took off from a Las Vegas airport. Flight BA274 had just taken off from Harry Reid International Airport en route to the UK at around 8:45 p.m. Monday when sparks could be seen flying out of the right landing gear. As the plane started to ascend, it retracted its landing gear — just for one of the wheels to fall off and onto the runway. Despite the scare, the flight continued and “landed safely” at London Heathrow Airport nine hours later, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)...

Three million Americans will board a plane today assuming the pilot earned that seat through merit. They shouldn’t. For decades, airlines have subordinated safety to diversity quotas. President Donald Trump rightly recognized this danger: Early on, he ordered the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation to rescind all DEI initiatives and return to merit-based hiring and promotions. But the FAA can, and must, do more. Federal law makes it illegal to run an airline “without an air carrier operating certificate. These certificates must “contain terms necessary to ensure safety” and can be revoked if the “public interest” requires it....

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines on Friday to exercise caution when flying over Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, citing the risks of potential military activities and GPS interference. The FAA said it had issued Notices to Airmen covering Mexico and Central American countries, as well as Ecuador, Colombia and portions of airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean. The warnings began on Friday and will last 60 days, it said. Tensions between the U.S. and regional leaders have ramped up since the Trump administration mounted a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean, attacked Venezuela and...

Who exactly are the people responsible for directing air traffic in the sky? We did a deep dive into what these people are posting openly online, and what we found might disturb you.

Air traffic controllers and technicians with perfect attendance during the government shutdown will receive $10,000 bonuses, the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration said this week. The bonuses will go to 776 controllers and technicians, who will receive notification next week with payments going out by Dec. 9, the FAA and DOT said. There are about 11,000 fully certified air traffic controllers in the U.S., according to their union. “These patriotic men and women never missed a beat and kept the flying public safe throughout the shutdown,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a release late Thursday. The DOT...

Well, this could get interesting. On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released an advisory stating pilots should exercise caution in and around Venezuelan airspace, citing an increase in military activity in the region as well as a "worsening security situation."The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned pivots (sic) to “exercise caution” when operating in the region around Venezuela because of the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity” in and near the South American nation as tensions with the United States simmer.The FAA’s advisory, issued on Friday, notes that “threats could post (sic) a potential risk to aircraft at...

The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) flight reduction emergency order will officially end Monday morning, allowing normal operations to resume nationwide, according to officials. The order will be lifted at 6 a.m. ET Monday following recommendations from the FAA’s safety team. The decision came after safety reviews and improvements in air traffic control staffing levels across the U.S., according to a Sunday announcement from the FAA. "I want to thank the FAA’s dedicated safety team for keeping our skies secure during the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history and the country’s patience for putting safety first," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy...

The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday will “effectively prohibit business aviation” at a dozen major U.S. airports, adding to flight restrictions for commercial airlines as air traffic controller shortages snarl travel in the government shutdown, a trade group said. Here are the airports included in the new restrictions, according to the NBAA: Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Denver International Airport (DEN) General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS) George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)...

Beginning next week, all daytime rocket launches in the United States will be grounded as the record-breaking federal government shutdown drags into its second month.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an emergency order restricting access to navigable airspace in an effort to reduce strain on the nation’s air traffic system, already under pressure from severe staffing shortages.

So far, I wouldn’t have noticed Chuck Schumer’s government “shutdown” if it hadn’t been in the newspapers. The government is still withholding money from my paychecks, so the shutdown is obviously less than complete. I don’t depend on SNAP or other government programs, although I sympathize with those who do. But I do travel a lot, and the Schumer Shutdown is starting to affect air travel and, perhaps, air safety: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that flights to Los Angeles, California, were halted due to staffing shortages of air traffic controllers during the ongoing government shutdown, according to multiple...

Plane Crashes in Fort Worth, Setting Vehicles Ablaze A Fort Worth plane crash has sparked chaos and flames after a small aircraft went down in Texas on Sunday, igniting several vehicles near the crash site. Emergency crews and firefighters are on the scene working to extinguish the blaze and assess the extent of the damage. Eyewitnesses captured dramatic video footage showing black smoke rising into the air as vehicles burned near the crash location. Authorities have cordoned off the area as first responders search for potential victims and investigate the cause of the accident.

In a statement on October 4, officials at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada said that an aircraft 'was involved in an incident,' crashing in the desert just miles from the restricted zone around Area 51 on September 23. While the Air Force said that the craft was assigned to the base as part of the 432nd Wing, some on social media pointed out that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary flight restriction around the area for an entire week. The location of the flight restriction placed the crash roughly 12 miles east of the security boundary around...